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The bond of natural relation was now broken by proselytism —parents, children, and brethren, were held in the utmost contempt and indifference; and the Rabbis had a maxim, that a man might marry his own daughter born before he became a proselyte, or his own mother; and it was, no doubt, referring to this proselyte renunciation of kindred, and in prospect of the dangers to which confession of faith would expose his disciples, that our Saviour said, If any man come unto me, and hate (or postpone) not his father and mother, and wife and children, and brethren and sisters, he cannot be my disciple, Luke xiv. 26. Other strong reasons, such as the marriage of an idolatress with a Jew, may have justified the same preference; and this principle explains the passage, Hearken, O daughter; forget thine own people and thy father's house, Ps. xlv. 10.

As regarded the Gospel, the above-cited strong phrases no doubt signified the duty of a man, when brought to the alternative, in the earlier days of Christianity, of sacrificing his own life, when necessary, for the cause of the Gospel, or of suppressing his new and firm convictions for the sake of peace with an idolatrous kindred. It can by no means be tortured into that gratification of filial rebellion against the laws of God, by disregard of parental authority, in ordinary cases and at the present time, which enthusiasts too readily adopt, with a head-strong obstinacy.

No; it was of this unnatural alienation from the nearest and dearest ties and duties of nature, taught by the Jewish doctors to their proselytes to Judaism, that our Lord spoke when he told the Pharisees, Ye compass heaven and earth to make a proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him two-fold more the child of hell than yourselves, Matt. xxiii. 15. It was the Pharisaical corban, 17, the refusal of a temple-offering to the support of a father or mother, that he denounced, Mark vii. 11, 12. Tacitus, in speaking of the Jews, mentions the circumcision of proselytes, and writes -"Nam pessimus quisque spretis religionibus patriis, tributa et stipes illuc congerebant, unde auctæ Judæorum res, et quia apud ipsos fides obstinata, misericordia in promptu, sed adversus omnes alios hostile odium. Separati epulis, discreti cubilibus, projectissima ad libidinem gens, alienarum concubitu abstinent,

inter se nihil illicitum. Circumcidere genitalia instituere, ut diversitate noscantur. Transgressi in morem eorum idem usurpant, nec quidquid prius imbuuntur, quam contemnere deos, exuere patriam, parentes, liberos, patres vilia habere."-Tacitus, Hist. lib. 5. If the historian took his authority for these last words from Scripture, he was ignorant of Scripture idioms: for the texts, Whoever shall not HATE father and mother, &c. is not worthy of me; Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I HATED,— mean only, the one is preferred to the other.

92. What places of the Old Testament answer to the synagogues of the New Testament?

The word synagogue is rarely mentioned in the Old Testament, though occurring often in the New. Prideaux has ascribed the introduction of such places of worship, for the reading of the Scriptures and the expounding of the same, to Ezra; by which he explains the singular fact, that after the Babylonish captivity the Jews returned no more to idolatry, though prior to that time always prone to it. But there is reason to suppose that synagogues existed from the time of the settlement of the people in Canaan; the tabernacle, and afterwards the temple, where alone sacrifices could be offered, being too remote from the residence of the tribes for their resort thither oftener than at the three

great annual festivals. As they would every where require Sabbath devotion and places of daily prayer, it is thought the synagogues were of earlier institution than Ezra, having been to the Temple as chapels to a parish church, or as parish churches to a cathedral. A synagogue was called ', or house of assembling; and in Ps. lxxiv. 8 we read, they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land, ; and in Acts xv. 21 Moses is said to have had, of OLD TIME, them that preached him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath-day.

But if such buildings had an early existence, they must have been "few and far between" in the land, otherwise the mention of them would have been more frequent. Their place was supplied by the Levitical cities, four in each tribual district. There were also schools of the prophets, where they instructed their disciples, called "children of the prophets;" and whither people

resorted on the Sabbaths and new moons, as they did to Elisha (2 Kings iv. 23), and in the captivity, to Ezekiel, chap. xx. 1. There were such schools at Bethel (2 Kings ii. 3), at Jericho (2 Kings ii. 5), and at Naioth Ramah, 1 Sam. xix. 19, 20.

But these likewise were too thinly scattered to answer the purpose of a holy convocation on the Sabbath, agreeably to Levit. xxiii. 3, the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all YOUR DWELLINGS, 8 linew new.

Here mikra (convocation) supposes more families than one, and signifies the place of assemblage rather than the persons convened; for the word is repeated in the plural in Isaiah iv. 5, , where the assemblies are distinguished from Mount Zion or the temple. These, with the Levitical cities and the schools of the prophets, answer to the synagogues of the New Testament. There is no trace of the роσɛνɣaí, or oratories, in the Old Testament.

93. The criterion of a miracle applied to those wrought by Christ.

A miracle is an event or effect contrary to the established laws of nature or course of things, wrought by the power or permission of God, to prove a doctrine, or ratify the divine mission of an individual :—to prove a doctrine, such as a future state, by the ascension of Elijah into heaven;-to ratify a man's message by the authority of God, as the mission of Moses was confirmed by the parting of the Red Sea. In the Gospel, Christ proved his power to forgive sins by the healing of the sick of the palsy, But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins (then saith he to the sick of the palsy), Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house, Matt. ix. 6. And he shewed his divine mission by raising himself from the grave, which at the same time proved the doctrine of a general resurrection. Then said the Jews unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things (viz. castest out the buyers and sellers)? Jesus answered, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. If ye believe not my words, believe me for the very works' sake, John xiv. 11, v. 36, x. 38.

94. Kingdom of God, or kingdom of heaven.

That the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven have the same meaning, appears from comparing parallel passages in different evangelists. Thus the poor in spirit are promised the kingdom of heaven in Matt. v. 3, and of God in Luke vi. 20: the kingdom of heaven, Matt. iii. 2, or of God, Mark xi. 15, is at hand. For this kingdom being created by the God of heaven, derives its name from either; and, the heavens, is the name of God in Dan. iv. 26.

This phrase has two meanings-the kingdom of grace and the kingdom of glory. In the first sense, it is the coming of the Messiah to erect his spiritual kingdom, or the state, government, and privileges of his church, commencing with the descent of the Holy Spirit on his head at the time of his baptism, or, according to others, with the descent of the same Spirit on his apostles on the Pentecost after his ascension. In this sense, the kingdom of heaven is said, in Matt. iv. 17, Luke x. 9, to be at hand, or near, that is, was then presently to be manifested, and again, in Matt. xii. 28, Mark ix. 1, Luke xvi. 16, Matt. xxi. 43, &c.; and in the same sense it is primarily understood in almost all the parables which speak of the kingdom of God, as in Matthew, chaps. xvi. xviii. and xxii. This is the kingdom of which the disciples knew the mysteries (Matt. xiii. 11), and from which the scribe was not far off, Mark xii. 34.

In the second sense the phrase signifies that heavenly kingdom purchased and prepared for the faithful by Christ, and in which, as being (through grace) their recompense, they shall enjoy endless felicity with God in heaven: Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven, Matt. vii. 21. This is that kingdom which men are to seek above all earthly things (Luke xii. 31), and which it is the Father's good pleasure to give, ver. 32, Matt. xiii. 43, and many other places.

But in some passages of the Gospels both these meanings are blended, and in others it may be difficult to determine to which of the senses the words are to be referred; as the text Matt. v. 19 may signify, either the Gospel-covenant in the present world, or the degrees of eternal reward and punishment in

the world to come; Matt. vi. 33, xix. 24, Mark x. 14, 15, 23-25, Luke xviii. 29, xxii. 29, 30.

There is likewise a sense in which the kingdom of heaven signifies the commencement of the heavenly enjoyment in the breast of a sincere Christian: The kingdom of God is within you, Luke xvii. 21; the kingdom of heaven is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, Rom. xiv. 17. See a sermon by Chalmers, Heaven a Character, and not a Locality; and one by Bishop Jebb, serm. iv. on Rom. xiv. 17.

95. Leading features of Jewish history from the call of Abraham to the birth of Christ, with the dates of the principal events.

Abraham was called out of Ur in Chaldea B.C. 1921, when seventy-five years of age, and directed to go into Canaan, with a promise that his family should inherit that land, and that the Messiah should spring from his race: while of the covenant then made, circumcision was the sign. Isaac, his son, was born B.C. 1898; and Jacob, the son of Isaac, B. c. 1837. To Jacob were born twelve sons, the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel eleven of whom, through envy of Joseph, the youngest, his father's favourite, sold him into Egypt (B.c. 1729), where he rose to high dignity, and saved the country in a famine. Discovering himself to his brothers as they came to buy corn, he shewed a noble example of forgiveness in bringing them, with their families and their father Jacob, into Egypt, B.C. 1706, where they dwelt, and multiplied from seventy persons to 600,000. A little before this time, Job is said to have lived, B.C. 1700; and his book affords information respecting the patriarchal or ante-Mosaical religion, which contained a knowledge of typical sacrifice, the unity and spirituality of God, a redeemer, and a resurrection. The miraculous increase of the Israelites excited the jealousy of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who directed that their male infants should be destroyed as soon as born. From this fate Moses was delivered by the daughter of that prince; and, commissioned by Jehovah, who appeared to him in a burning bush, led the Israelites out of Canaan, with

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